UAE’s Adnoc has taken a final investment decision to build its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Al Ruwais. Adnoc also awarded the $5.5 billion EPC deal to a joint venture led by France’s Technip Energies.
The state-owned firm revealed this in a statement issued on Wednesday following a meeting of the executive committee of its board of directors.
Adnoc also confirmed to LNG Prime the decision and the award of the $5.5 billion contract.
Besides Technip Energies, the JV also includes Japan’s JGC and UAE’s NMDC Energy.
Adnoc issued in March this year a limited notice to proceed for early engineering, procurement, and construction activities to the joint venture.
Besides this EPC deal, Adnoc Gas, the gas and LNG unit of Adnoc, also awarded US energy services firm Baker Hughes a contract for the LNG export terminal.
Baker Hughes will provide two electric liquefaction systems (e-LNG) for the Ruwais LNG project.
The LNG project will consist of two 4.8 mtpa trains with a total capacity of 9.6 mtpa, more than doubling Adnoc’s existing UAE LNG production capacity to around 15 mtpa, as the company builds its international LNG portfolio.
Adnoc currently owns a 70 percent stake in Adnoc LNG, that currently produces about 6 mtpa of LNG from its facilities on Das Island.
Ruwais LNG deals
Last month, Adnoc signed a heads of agreement with Germany’s EnBW to supply the latter with LNG from its LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.
Under the deal, EnBW will buy 0.6 mtpa of LNG for a period of 15 years.
The deliveries, which will be primarily sourced from the Ruwais LNG plant, are expected to start in 2028, upon commencement of the facility’s commercial operations.
This is the third long-term LNG supply agreement from the Ruwais LNG project, following the 15-year agreement with Germany’s SEFE signed in March this year and the 15-year agreement with China’s ENN Natural Gas signed in December 2023.
The deals with SEFE and ENN are each for 1 mtpa, meaning that Adnoc signed deals for a total of 2.6 mtpa.
International LNG expansion
Besides expanding its LNG production capacity, Adnoc is also working to boost its international LNG presence.
Adnoc recently agreed to buy Galp’s 10 percent interest in the Area 4 concession of the Rovuma basin in Mozambique, which includes Eni’s Coral South FLNG project.
Prior to that, Adnoc said it will buy an 11.7 percent stake in the first phase of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG export terminal in Texas from Global Infrastructure Partners.
Adnoc and NextDecade also entered into a 20-year LNG offtake agreement for the fourth Rio Grande LNG train.
The acquisition marks Adnoc’s first strategic investment in the US.
LNG fleet
Adnoc is also expanding its fleet of LNG carriers and it recently selected two South Korean shipbuilders to build six LNG carriers following a tender.
These LNG carriers are expected to serve Adnoc’s second LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.
Adnoc’s unit Adnoc L&S is already working to renew its fleet of LNG carriers and it has six 175,000-cbm vessels on order at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard worth more than $1.2 billion.
The firm is expected to take delivery of the first vessel in this batch in December this year and the rest of the ships in 2025 and 2026.
Adnoc L&S’s existing fleet of Moss-type, steam turbine LNG carriers serves its terminal on Das Island.